Indie apps for iOS, Mac & Android
Depart UK
Your commute, on one screen.
Most rail apps make you search for the same journey every morning. Depart UK doesn't. Save the routes you actually travel, open the app, and the next few trains are already there - time, platform, and whether they are late or cancelled.
Free, supported by ads. No account, no subscription, and no sign-up.
Features
Saved routes, not searches
Set up "home to work" once. Every route gets its own card with the next three departures, so the morning check is a single glance.
Live times and platforms
Expected time, minutes late, platform number, operator, and how many coaches - straight from National Rail Enquiries.
Delays explained
When a train is late or cancelled, the app shows the reason the operator gave rather than a bare red label.
Routes that know your week
Give a route the days and hours it matters - Mon-Fri 06:30-09:30, say - and it stays quiet outside them instead of cluttering the screen.
Direct trains only
Choose any train calling at your destination, or only the ones that run as a single unit with no dividing on the way.
The full stopping pattern
Tap a departure to see every calling point with live times, your stop marked, skipped stops crossed out, and a note when the train divides.
Always current
Refreshes every minute while the app is open, on resume, and whenever you pull down. All your active routes update together.
Every UK station
All 2,600+ National Rail stations are bundled with the app, so the station search works instantly and offline.
When a train is cancelled
Depart UK doesn't just grey the row out. Open the service and you get a banner explaining the cancellation, the stops it would have called at, and a "next train to your stop" row that takes you straight to the alternative. The same happens when a train still runs but drops your station for the day.
Your data
There is no account and no login. Your saved routes are stored on your phone and may be included in backups you enable. The app sends station codes to a small proxy for live departures and uses Google AdMob for ads. Full detail, including ad consent choices, is on the privacy page.
Permissions
Internet access
Both versions use the internet to fetch live departure boards and load ads.
Network state on Android
The Android app checks connectivity to tell "you are offline" apart from "the service is down".
No location, contacts, calendar, or shared file access is requested. Routes are saved in the app's own storage. The iPhone app does not request tracking permission. Ad consent choices are explained in the privacy policy.
System requirements
Android 8.0 or later, or iOS 17 or later. An internet connection is needed for live times; the station list works offline.
Data sources
Live departures come from National Rail Enquiries via the Rail Data Marketplace. The station list comes from the open davwheat/uk-railway-stations dataset, which builds on Trainline EU data and is licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL).